Salary cap spike not expected this year, or any year

When it comes to the salary cap, there’s a widespread belief that, once the NFL unlocks millions in new TV money in 2014, the team-by-team spending limit will spike in 2015.

That belief seems to be mistaken.

Per a source with extensive knowledge of the design and implementation of the cap, the formula will experience a “smoothing” in the coming years, with no one year resulting in a dramatic leap. The thinking is that, if the cap shoots up dramatically from one year to the next, it won’t be fair to the players who signed a big contract in the year in which the cap was lower.

The smoothing phenomenon is more likely to unfold even in 2015 because, in 2012, money from future cap years was shifted to a year in which the cap was poised to drop, due to the revenue decreases from 2011, the year of the lockout. (Even though only one game was missed during to the lockout, months of uncertainty affected fan and sponsor spending during the offseason shutdown.)

This robbing of Peter to pay Paul means that the expected growth will peter out when otherwise expected to spike.

As a result, teams that deal with current cap problems by pushing money into the future under the assumption that there will be extra space at some point could be positioning themselves for a perpetual cap purgatory.

Pretty much everyone here seems to have misunderstood the article. The total money expected to be paid to the players has not changed, and the eventual cap figure for, say, 2018 hasn’t changed. What has changed is that instead of the players getting all the new money in one year, they spread that money over multiple years in advance.

Demaurice Smith didn’t get screwed, the NFL didn’t steal money, and the players are going to keep getting richer whether you like it or not.

justintuckrule says:Feb 15, 2013 3:00 PM

bs call #105

Whatever NFL shill told you that the “thinking for smoothing is to protect players who signed in low cap years” is full of it. This tripe is nothing but an excuse for the owners to pocket the increase.

Whoever had the foresight to think that both sides won was out of their minds.

I never felt that way and said this in 2011. Why do you think I’ve had the habit of ripping De Smith the way that I have?

dccowboy says:Feb 15, 2013 3:50 PM

Which further proves that the owners pwnd the players in the last contract deal.

vincentbojackson says:Feb 15, 2013 3:59 PM

Easy solution…expand the rosters to 60 players when the new TV deal hits in 2014. That will allow the cap to spike without all the money unfairly going to a couple marquee players. The larger roster will help teams build some continuity and add depth to cover for injuries.

Xenu D. Alien says:Feb 15, 2013 9:09 PM

De Smith looks like a D minus. At least he helped the players weasel their way out of HGH testing so far.